NOVEL WEB Chapter 184
“Splitting society in half, shaking Heros Company’s trust, leading the attack on the Academy, and oh, being famous for my looks, but having a past of being experimented on by Heros Company…”
Seriously, how much can one person have? Anyway, with all those rumors hanging around me like ornaments, news of my capture spread faster than wildfire.
But that didn’t lead to a tsunami of reporters crashing in or anything unfortunate.
Officially, my current situation is in the hands of the kids, and since they aren’t responding to interviews, that’s just how it goes.
Plus, Heros Company is blocking things from behind. Throwing a fit about media suppression? Yeah, Heros Company wouldn’t swallow that garbage.
They used to tread lightly when suppressing news, but now they’re doing it outright. Who cares about the reporters’ grumbling?
According to the kids, ever since my exposé tarnished their morals, they’ve been even more brazen about it.
They know their position well enough, and it’s blatant, seeing as they live on my back.
So whatever, society’s rolling along somehow. Honestly, I couldn’t care less, so I let it slide in one ear and out the other.
“It’s still too early in the morning for guests… but for you, it’s a different story. Did you bring news about those guys?”
But really, the only thing on my mind right now was news about the Evil Society.
I greeted Lapiz, who arrived early in the morning with her shackles jingling, and she frowned, complaining about such questions.
“What? Oh, you just came to chat? I thought you were up to something!”
“If that were the case, I’d have gathered the rest of them, you dummy.”
After pondering her words briefly, which made sense, I asked her why she came alone if she didn’t have anything planned.
“I just came to talk about… anything, mostly wondering how you were doing last night.”
She didn’t seem in a hurry to share anything, so I didn’t press her further. Even though she was relaxed, after all, they were still above me.
“As you can see, I’m living too luxuriously for a prisoner and too oppressively for a student. All thanks to you guys.”
“Doesn’t that… bother you?”
Lapiz asked, glancing at the restraints on my wrists and ankles. Oh, this?
“Of course it’s uncomfortable. That’s the point. But it doesn’t interfere with my daily life. They didn’t even chain my tentacles.”
When I showed her how I could stretch my slime to press and eat things, she muttered that it kind of defeats the purpose of tying me up.
“True, but there’s nothing better than this to show I’m a prisoner, right? It’s true these restraints aren’t exactly functional, but I’m not planning an escape anyway.”
The moment I step outside, it’s a guaranteed death sentence. How could I possibly dare to step outside?
“You really are… unchanged, I guess…”
It felt like she was saying everyone else changed, but why was I still the same?
“I’ve changed a lot too, just like you. Just not outwardly. Oh, speaking of changes, I don’t stutter anymore, huh?”
Since we met again, I’d noticed a shift in the way she spoke. Suddenly, her words became clear. I was curious about when that had happened.
“…Someone gave me a massive shock. So, I kinda froze up briefly then just ended up like this. Should I say I got better?”
She still stutters when she gets emotional, but she said she’s making an effort to speak clearly.
“You really do sound nice and clear, Lapiz.”
“So before, you didn’t want to hear me?”
“That’s not what I meant! Why are you twisting my words?”
As we bantered, Lapiz cautiously revealed why she came so early in the morning.
“…Blanca. After finishing off the Evil Society, have you thought about what you’ll do next?”
Future. Whether it’s Seolhwa, Yeonhwa, Jinhyeon, or Minho, why is everyone curious about what I’ll do next?
“Not at all. Honestly, it’s impossible for me to live a normal life. I doubt Heros Company would let me live easily anyway.”
If I succeed, it’s a revolution, if I fail, it’s treason. I’ve already failed and become a traitor, so there’s no future for me.
“I see. So after capturing Arman, you were just going to accept your death?”
“I don’t want to end up as a test subject. I don’t want to do anything that gives those guys an advantage.”
If I hoped to survive, I’d ask the kids to let them know it wasn’t happening, but she cut me off.
“I figured as much, you crazy cat. You’re still full of thoughts about dying.” Sigh…
Jokingly saying that if she lost everything precious, she’d understand my feelings, Lapiz shuddered and told me not to bring up such dark topics.
“…Anyway! If you have no thoughts and nowhere to go, how about… um, maybe coming to work as a servant at our house?”
“Huh? What did you say?”
That was so far out of left field I had to double-check; she got mad, yelling that I shouldn’t make her repeat herself.
I really didn’t understand what she meant, so I asked again, feeling completely clueless about it all.
“Are you thinking of coming to our house as a maid or something?”
As I stared at her in shock, she looked dead serious.
“…Me? At your house?”
There were just way too many issues to unpack, but I couldn’t even begin to find the starting point. Seriously, no idea where to dig in.
“Isn’t it… too much of a problem?”
When I asked, Lapiz replied, asking what the problem could possibly be.
She was saying this while not even sure herself if this was a good plan, yet when I boiled down her scattered thoughts, it wasn’t entirely implausible.
Opposition from Heros Company? Grandma could just threaten them, so it’s all good.
Me, without the knowledge? I’d learn.
What about a former criminal as a servant? Nobody objected, right? My dad mildly objected, but when I passionately persuaded him, he caved.
And so on.
Even though it’s utterly ridiculous, it’s not entirely impossible. Yeah, Heros Company might blow a gasket over this, but their opinions? Who cares.
“There’s a point to it… I guess.”
“See? It’s not nonsense! So, since you have nowhere else to go…”
“But I’ll think about it first.”
When I said that, Lapiz glared at me with a look filled with betrayal, like we had done this already.
“Well, it’s not like I have an intense desire to live fiercely still.”
Lapiz stared at me in disbelief, as if to say, why would you kick away the path to life that I’m trying to show you?
I tried to explain my reasoning, but she yanked me down to her eye level and yelled, as if she didn’t want to hear my explanations.
“If you’re sorry, like, really sorry! Then live!! Don’t try to find comfort in dying alone; pay your dues while you’re alive!!!”
This wasn’t some chilly new attitude; it was still the same face she’d worn before. In some ways, she was still the same.
“…I’ll think about it.”
But still, I couldn’t really affirm it. All I could give was a half-hearted answer like I’d consider it.
“Do what you want, idiot! If you beg for your life later, I won’t help you!!”
She seemed disappointed by my answer and left in a huff.
“…Being a maid, like… what’s that even?”
After hearing her proposal, it still didn’t feel real, muttering to myself. So, does that mean I’d be working for Lapiz?
Washing her hair, dressing her, doing her makeup…?
It was an unimaginable scene. So, I’d have to call her Miss Lapiz while living there, huh?
Either way, it was a hard image to picture.
After she left, Minho showed up a bit later, but even then, I was still mulling over the proposal in my head and responded to him absentmindedly.
“Blanca, are you thinking about something else? Your mind seems elsewhere.”
I wondered if it’d be okay to tell Minho, but no matter how I thought about it, this was too touchy for small talk, so I just said I was curious about what Justitia was up to.
“Justitia? She’s doing well. Still being held by Arman, though.”
Starting the conversation, Minho informed me about the latest updates from the Evil Society, revealing several pieces of news.
Notably, their condition was deteriorating, and Arman had been appearing on the front lines more frequently.
“…So that’s the case? Ha, serves them right. Who dared to mess with us?”
“Anyway… Blanca. It seems like your day to step outside isn’t too far off. Just keep that in mind.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll keep that in mind, protagonist-nim.”
“Don’t call me that…”